"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ would take the slums out of people, and then they would take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature...Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world."
Ezra Taft Benson

May 29, 2012

That line is from the song Castles in the Sky. Tis stuck in my head ha.

Not in an emo way, just in a thoughtful way.

Does life ever seem surreal to you? Like you've taken a step back and you are seeing everything going on around you as if it is a dream or a movie?

I've had those moments come quite a bit lately.

Ha! When I was little, I'd sometimes imagine we were all just characters in some magic book, with someone, somewhere, flipping through slowly.
We just lived out our story on the pages of earth with no true reality.
Funny to think back on :)

Well, now I know this life has a lot more significance than a storybook. Now when moments come that sort of ..detach me from the present I guess.. it is good time for reflection.

Reflections on things like:

Is what I'm doing important?

Is what I'm doing positive?

C/Should I have done something different?

C/Should I be doing more?

(Whoa. I just realized could and should are spelled quite strangely. I had to stare at them for a few seconds.)

I like my life. And I like those moments that come that make me pause.

May 22, 2012

Ya know those times when you get little glimpses of life within little parts of life?
Tonight, whilst driving the construction-laden freeway, I started thinkin.

Remember back when you learned to drive? They said that you, to stay on course, don't stare at the road directly in front of the car. Look out into the distant road and you'll automatically adjust your path to stay where you should be.

Seeing the analogy that formed in my mind?

Looking at the big picture will keep us moving forward. Getting caught up in the details of what is going on in the present or immediate future will just get you swerving all over the place. Doesn't mean you stop enjoying right where you are. You just don't stare at it quite so hard ha.

Shrug. Maybe it isn't a perfect analogy. Maybe it isn't even a good one. But right now, I think it would help me if I considered following that logic.

May 21, 2012

Ha! For some reason this poem is both inspiring and really hilarious to me.

Do You Fear the Wind?
Halmin Garland

Do you fear the force of the wind,
The slash of the rain?
Go face them and fight them,
Be savage again.
Go hungry and cold like the wolf.
Go wade like the crane.
The palms of your hands will thicken.
The skin of your cheek will tan.
You'll grow ragged and weary and swarthy.
But you'll walk like a man!

May 13, 2012

Besides her beauty, charm, wit, and grace, wanna know one of the things that has always impressed me most about my dear mother?

She loves people so well. She serves people so hard. I can't think of a better word than selfless. My mom is proactively selfless. I could list a million examples of how this has enriched the world and our family.

On a more personal level, one of the most soul-changing things my my mom has done for me is seeing and believing in me.In any condition, she knows that who I am is more than a bunch of quirks, insecurities, rants, weaknesses, or mistakes. Those detract from the real me shining through, but they are only a part of me if I choose them.

Hope.

Hope that I can be better. Hope that everyone can be better. That has changed how I see everybody around me. That has changed how I see myself.

May 12, 2012

One of the books I'm reading right now (anyone else like to read more than one book at a time ha?) is about lost things.

Across the street from the main character lived a girl who got lost. Disappeared, no traces. Since then, she became very concerned about all things lost. Where did they go when they were gone?

Her mother told her things are right where we left them, we just can't remember where that is sometimes. People are somewhere, we just don't know where.

Then the main character gets lost and goes to the place where all lost things go (filled with lost dogs/cats/toys/etc.)

Yesterday, I lost my keys. Stress! I know it is silly, but I entertained the thought for a few seconds that they had just disappeared to the place where lost things go.
Luckily, they had just gone to under the couch :)

Sidenote--holy cow, people are so awesome! While I wrote this post, a line from that Nick Vujicic song came to mind: "I think we're all afraid that we might be alone."

We all probably feel a little alone, a little lost, at some points in our lives. Not to be cliche, but increasingly lately I've seen how helping "find" others helps you find yourself. You are less consumed with yourself, and as President Hinckley said, there is so much more of you to find.

Problem: the girl checking them out (well....let's say, "ringing them up") informed them they couldn't hold the painting they had just purchased until they found a kindhearted truck-owning individual who could get it for them. So they hauled it out to the car.

Some of the group had the gall to doubt it would fit. Some were believers

The doubters won.

But our heroes never despaired!

In act of cunning and courage, they placed the giant painting on top of the car. Then they got inside the car, rolled down the windows, and grabbed onto the canvas. Luckily there were four of them.

As expected, they got many smiles, stares, and laughs as they cautiously drove from the parking lot.
As feared, the painting acted like a sail and threatened to fly away.
Flying tigers--go figure.

Avoiding main roads, they screamed their way home (the wood on the canvas dug into their hands as they held the flight-hungry tiger captive). They also may have screamed when they saw cop cars who might have halted their journey.

How did this tale end?

Victory! Yup, we now have a giant tiger painting in our living room. Suhweet.

Wanna know the best part?? Working at the good ol' Assisted Living, I related that story to a lady who lives there. She is very young, but lives there because of a sudden and rare degenerative disease she was hit with. Her life in general is a bit sad and scary in many ways.

But as I hammed up our redneck adventure, she laughed and laughed.
Laughing with her at our ridiculousness secured my opinion that the Tiger was worth every penny and every scream of pain and fear.